Get to Know Paige Parker Johnson '84

Paige Parker Johnson ’84 is Vice President of Education Marketing for Microsoft. For more than two decades, Paige has led initiatives to transform and personalize education through the effective use of technology, both in the US and abroad. Before joining Microsoft, she was the CEO of EdCatalyst Group, where she helped organizations design programs and products to improve education and learning. As the Education Strategist for Amazon Web Services, she promoted advances in cloud computing and data analytics to create more effective learning environments. Before that, she was the Education Strategist for Intel Corporation, where she collaborated with school systems around the world to help them build effective solutions to improve outcomes.

What elements of your experience at OES did you take into your current career/project?

I’ve been in the Education field for most of my career, first as a teacher, and more recently as a leader of organizations that develop technology and strategies to improve learning for all. One thing that is consistent across all my experiences is that I’ve seen the impact great teachers can make, and the importance of building strong personal relationships. Quality and excellence of teaching are foundational to building life skills, and the high-quality teaching that I experienced at OES, as well as the relationships that I built there, set foundations that have continued to support me throughout my career.

How would you say OES helped you get to where you are?

Research shows that students who develop strong critical thinking and collaboration skills are most in-demand by employers when they enter the workforce. Thanks to the collaborative environment at OES that emphasized problem-solving, group projects, and in-depth teamwork from the soccer field to the classroom, I was able to develop and hone these skills. There’s no individual work in the corporate world - everything is a team sport - so I’m grateful for my time at OES that helped me build skills that have benefitted me throughout my career. The truth is that AP scores are just less relevant than focusing on challenging projects and problems.

What's your favorite part about doing what you do?

I’m highly committed to the goal of helping educators, schools, and nations provide high-quality, equitable, accessible learning for all students, regardless of their backgrounds, abilities, language or economic situation. I’ve been fortunate to partner with many other individuals and companies who share this goal, and who put all their energy into continuing to transform learning to make it more personalized and more effective for every learner. Technology creates opportunity for students to develop emotional and cognitive skills, and in the current situation, technology for learning is more important than ever. If there’s any silver lining to the pandemic, it’s that the adoption of technology by schools has accelerated, and there’s an opportunity to start conversations about how they can use it more effectively to help all kids thrive. I’m excited to work for a global company like Microsoft that is committed to making technology a powerful force for good, and that has products and services that focus on equity and accessibility, and using data to support solving the world's largest problems.